My father works as a sales person in a small company. His take-home income is too little to manage my education expenses after maintaining all our family needs. We are living in poverty, and at times we go to bed hungry.  Now that I have received sponsorship from Children’s Hope it means I do not have to worry about my education. I feel I need additional tuition and already CH has given me hope to have my own coaching opportunity.

Children’s Hope (CH) established Support Services to run project activities through sponsorship program; Referred Person (RP) is one of them. When a student is enlisted as a sponsored child, they are automatically allocated to a RP who works in close contact with the student. RP works as a mentor for the student.

I am Mobina, currently a student at Higher Secondary School. I received sponsorship in 2009 when I was a student in class six. I am so grateful for the regular meetings that I have with my RP. These meetings enabled me to speak freely about any issue regarding my education or personal matters. RP support provides every single aspect of CH activity and fulfils my sponsorship demands.

Hi, I am Kajal; I  received my sponsorship in 2009 when I was a student of class VIII.  I am now a candidate for the Higher National Certificate exams. However, I could not produce good results in some of my pre-exam tests. I felt depressed and did not know what to do. My parents were not in a position to provide me with additional tuition to overcome my weakness on certain subjects. Children’s Hope then put me under Vulnerable Students’ Support Scheme and I now receive specialised coaching until my major exams start. As a student of vulnerable support scheme, I also receive other educational support such as regular counselling. Receive this invaluable coaching support has been pivotal for me to feel confident and to appear for these important college exams. 

Liz was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and speech delay from birth.  Recently she developed convulsions and was admitted to the local children's hospital immediately as organised by CH doctor.

CT scans of her brain showed that she had developed generalises cerebral Atrophy. Liz received immediate treatment and was put on expensive medication, which is also provided by Children’s Hope on a monthly bases.

Children’s Hope Acute Care service enabled Liz to be diagnosed and treated without delay,  this is important to minimise further health complications.

I cannot express how grateful I am to the acute care action of Children’s Hope health care program.

I’m Aysha Akter Turna. I embarked on Children’s Hope (CH) sponsorship program in 2009 when I was in class VII. From my childhood, I had a dream to become a doctor. But I was born in a very poor family and my parents could not send me to an appropriate school. This was until Children’s Hope came to my life, and I soon found hope and confidence  to fulfil my dream.

With the help of the comprehensive education program, today I am a medical student at Mymensing Medical College. I live at the medical college campus, this became possible because of the non-residence facility of Children’s Hope Education option, which enabled me to live and study outside home. My family is not able to bear the extra cost of my accommodation and food incurred due to living on site.

In addition to my monthly residential cost, I also receive from Children's Hope the full education expenses as a medical student. 

When I enlisted as a sponsor child of CH my father become financially relaxed about the continuation of my education in school. My father couldn’t pay my school tuitions regularly because he is the only bread earner at home and his income was not adequate. Now I feel comfortable that CH has come to me and I hope that this support will continue throughout my education. 

I also have a health problem – I have a tumour in my mouth which has been there for many years but I could not get treatment due to lack of money, as a result it has been getting bigger in size.  Being a sponsored child of Children’s Hope I and my family now receive family healthcare and I have already started to receive Medicare to treat my tumour.

I want to be an Engineer, and I now have the confidence to fulfil my ambition because Children's Hope will support me throughout my education.

Lubna always wanted to be an accountant. She received her sponsorship at a crucial time when her father, who was the only household earner, passed away. The family had no choice but to migrate to their village home, leaving behind Lubna at her relative's house when she was only 12 years old. Through her sponsorship she not only received financial support, but more importantly psychological support from Children’s Hope support services.

Lubna successfully finished school and college education and finally completed her graduation with a first class in Business Studies, all with the help of the sponsorship program. Children's Hope sponsorship program also enabled her to secure a placement at a Chartered Accountancy firm KPMG. There she has done well, finishing all in-service courses successfully and within a year she is expected to be a bona-fide Chartered Accountant, which is her ultimate career destination point.

"From an early age I have been involved in contributing to the overall family income whilst simultaneously continuing my school education. Managing both tasks was not easy.  This was when Children's Hope came forward and sponsored me at the age of 13.  Sponsorship has removed a huge burden from my shoulders because the organization was not only supporting my education cost, but also helping my family, both in terms of total healthcare as well as other support. With the help of Children’s Hope education support, for about 11 years, I have successfully completed my school, college and university education. Following my graduation in finance I was seeking a suitable employment, once again  Children’s Hope was there for me to help me take another step in my career development. Children’s Hope found employment for me as a Development Officer at a local industry. I have been working there for the last 11 years and gradually I have been promoted to managerial level.  I now earn enough money and my family are all well off as a result. Today I have stamped out poverty from our daily life and Children’s Hope has been the catalyst for my success." Shahadat Hossain

From the confines of a tiny tea stall, Shamsuddin long dreamed of setting up something bigger; a corner grocery shop to provide more security for the future of his disabled child, Rabuil, and to fund a move away from the slum dwelling without electricity in which he and his family of six lived in. But he never managed to get very far due to lack of available finance. Children’s Hope, who had provided nutrition, healthcare and other assistance to Rabuil in the past, awarded him a further grant of US$257 (£210) towards his total investment, which has at last enabled him to set up the shop. Soon his business started to generate the extra cash needed to relocate his family to more secure accommodation, where there is more room and the roof doesn’t leak in the monsoon.

Mohammad Shirajul Islam is the father of sponsored child Soma Islam, now 19, he is the only wage earner in his family of five. When she was 15, he was running a tea stall when, without warning or compensation, the local authority bulldozed his and other roadside small businesses to make way for new road construction works. Overnight his business and stock were wiped out and he found himself without any income for his family. Under the hardship criteria he received US$580 (£470) as a sustainable grant to set up a fresh tea stall.  This fast track response in providing financial support was very welcome – it meant he could set up the new stall in a safer place and make good profits from the stall in order to help his family with the minimum of disruption to their lives.

I am Mamun Hossen. I am a 24 years old Honors student studying Management at Dhaka College. I joined Children’s Hope when I was in class 6 at Bauniabandh Ideal High School. The charity’s home visit service enabled me to discuss issues, which are otherwise difficult to discuss in a home environment, such as health and emotional matters. Bringing the service into the family home also gives my parents the opportunity to highlight any concerns they may have, including financial problems, on a one-to-one basis. Home visits have set up close communication between us, which has been helpful.

After her husband’s death in 2007, Kulsum became the sole bread-winner for her family of four, which included Sumi Akter, then 12, who was sponsored by Children’s Hope. Kulsum set up a home-based business with the help of a micro credit loan. Initially, she bought sewing equipment with that money and later took further loans totalling US$1292 (£1050) to boost her business. Today, Kulsum’s business is well settled and enables her to meet all of her essential family needs. Her daughter Sumi graduated last year.

Nurul Islam makes his living as a driver of a three-wheeled taxi, known as a TucTuc. Wanting to provide a more secure future for his seven-strong family he took the risk of taking out a high interest loan from another source to buy a reconditioned taxi, but the interest payments were too high. This was where Children’s Hope came to the rescue. He decided to take a loan from the charity’s microcredit scheme, which repaid his high interest loan and enabled him to manage his family finances with a low interest micro credit loan.

With the help of her husband, Rahima has run her corner tea stall since 2008. While Children’s Hope funded the education costs of her youngest daughter, Tahmina, then 11, now 18, she was struggling to find the money needed for her other two daughters, Nasnina and Sonia Akter, now aged 22 and 25.  She took out her first micro-credit loan in 2009 and invested the money in her business to help generate the extra income required for school fees. Soon she was getting a good return, and she repaid all of her loan in time and secured a second loan for further investment. Today Rahima comfortably manages all her household expenses, including the costs of university education for two of her daughters and paying for accommodation for the rest of the family.

Nazma is a mother of three, after seperating from her husband, she became the sole bread-winner of the family. Her days were very burdensome and whatever she managed to earn as a laborer in a tailor shop was not enough to meet her family needs. So hard was the struggle that she had to take her children out of school. Children’s Hope were able to fund the further education of her son Omar, as well as providing nutrition and family healthcare. To allow Nazma to start saving for the future Children’s Hope awarded her with a non-refundable grant of US$385 to establish her own tailoring shop. Now with the extra income she can support the education of her other children as well as contributing to the accommodation costs of relatives

Bilkis is the elder sister of a sponsored child called Kamrul Hasn, who is now 21. When they were evicted from their slum dwelling, the Family Rehabilitation Project awarded her US$308 (£250)  to set up her own tailoring business in the community and also provided her with appropriate training. Whereas before she was just getting by on the small sums she earned as a private tutor, today she makes a profit of US$26 (£21) per month, which helps her family pay the rent for their new accommodation in another urban area of Dhaka. The project has not only provided material assistance, it has also given her a newfound independence as the decision maker in the family.

When Rehana Begum’s husband, the only bread-winner in the family, fell into ill health with diabetes and heart problems, Rehana applied to the Sustainable Livelihood Development Project for a grant to set up her own grocery shop to provide her family income. She was awarded US$578 under the scheme and was able to provide much needed stability, giving her husband the best chance of recovery, and her children who were covered by the Children’s Hope sponsorship scheme, were able to continue with their studies.

Saiful Islam had been successfully running his savory food business from home until his house burnt down, destroying all his business assets and leaving him and his family of four living by a roadside. He was allocated US$578 (£470) to rebuild his house and additional money was also granted to salvage his business. He has since made a gradual recovery from his loss and today he is now able to save US$14 (£12)  each month from his own business.

“I am Amena Begum, 46, whose 14-year-old daughter Aysha Akter is with the Children’s Hope scheme. I was a day labourer working long hours in an embroidery factory, but I was paid very little, it was not enough to meet my family needs and the long hours meant I was unable to spend quality time with my girls, caring for them or supporting them in their studies. Children’s Hope gave me a non-refundable sustainable grant in order to buy an embroidery machine. Consequently, I set up my own embroidery business, employing two staff. One Sustainable Livelihood grant has turned my family earnings into a comfortable income from which I can now save some money on a monthly basis.

Mr. Hasem Mollah is the father of sponsored child Mohammad Karim, who is now 24. As a rickshaw puller he had been the main wage-earner for his family of four. But as he got older, his health began to deteriorate and over the last year he could no longer work on a full time basis. In fact the effects of age and the onset of heart disease meant he needed to find a radically new way of earning money. So he sought help from the Sustainable Livelihood Development project to set up a small grocery shop and was successful in securing US$385 (£315)  to set up his grocery business. Today, Hasem manages to support his family through a new business, which doesn’t now pose a risk to his own health.